3 White Sox who won’t be on the roster past the Trade Deadline
By Jake Oliver
There are at least 3 White Sox players not long for the roster come the MLB Trade Deadline
The Chicago White Sox know they need to win now, especially in a weak division such as the AL Central. After many injuries, underperformance, and a manager seemingly lost with the times, the White Sox have managed to crawl back to .500 baseball. They are 49-49, 3 games behind the division leader Minnesota Twins and 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. One issue is that the Guardians are also ahead of the White Sox.
The team has dealt with numerous headaches or slow starts by players. They have seven regulars with an OPS+ way below the league average of 100. They have a slew of needs at 2nd base, corner outfield, the bullpen, and another starter. That’s why we can expect them to make some trades in the hopes of avoiding a crushing end to their season. I could name probably 10 names that should be off the White Sox 40-man roster in a week’s time like Gavin Sheets, Josh Harrison, Adam Haseley, Adam Engel, and Jose Ruiz. Or they could go all in on a Juan Soto trade.
Yet, there are 3 leading contenders in my mind that need to be off the White Sox roster in a week’s time.
1. Leury Garcia, 2B has to go
I honestly don’t know how Leury Garcia is still on this team. He has the 3rd-worst wRC+ in the MLB! While he mostly hit okay in the years prior with the team, he has completely cratered this year. With a .205 batting average and an abysmal .272 slugging percentage, I don’t understand how he has 253 plate appearances. He has walked 7 times to 54 punch-outs.
While he is a utility player, I’m sure the White Sox can find someone better to play instead of Garcia. I wouldn’t be shocked if they made a trade for a 2nd baseman or utility infielder that can hit right-handed pitching. This would allow them to keep Josh Harrison in a platoon against left-handed pitchers. Harrison has been great when having the platoon advantage.
Garcia is signed to a reasonable contract through 2025, but the 31-year-old might need to be designated for assignment. No worthy playoff contender can keep trotting out a guy with a 42 OPS+ in the lineup every day.